


The WolfBoy Next Door

by Karl_Josephson



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Humor, M/M, Unrequited Crush, Werewolf Biology, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-27
Updated: 2018-02-27
Packaged: 2019-03-24 12:54:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13811616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karl_Josephson/pseuds/Karl_Josephson
Summary: When Andrew moved into this neighborhood ten years ago, he met his first Wolf-Person. That was the correct term, he thinks, to refer to 'those people' who immigrated to the United States after WWII. No one's quite sure where they came from or why so many of them were let in.  All anyone can find out is that they had weird little characteristics that made them stick out; most important being the fuzzy ears, amber eyes, sharp teeth, and a hairy butt. Well, at least Tom does that last one.Who's Tom? Only Andrew's best friend in the whole world...and the secret crush of his life, not that he'll ever tell. No, that's a secret he'll take to his grave, or college next year. Whichever one comes first. The problem is surviving the final year of bitchy teenagers, crabby teachers, and the final stages of DogBoy...Wolf-Person maturity that his best friend is going through.





	The WolfBoy Next Door

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be novel, and as I finish it, I plan to either stop posting parts here or remove it entirely. That won't be a while yet as this is just the first chapter and prologue.
> 
> © 2018 Karl Josephson, all rights reserved.

The moving truck still sat on the curb, half in the road. His dad had warned Andrew about going around the front even though there had been a total of like three cars drive by the whole time they had been here. There wasn't anything he wanted out of it anyhow. It just took up the view of most of the neighborhood is all. He wanted to see around it.

Standing in front of the front bumper didn't break the rule, technically. Not since he was still on the side too, after all, he hadn't gone in front of it, not completely. He wasn't even fully in front of the headlight.

From here, he could see the other houses on their new block. There were eight in total, four of them on what mom had called the cul-duh-sack. Two were on the other side of the street. They were plain grey and brown. Nothing interesting about them or the neatly trimmed bushes out front. Other than the nice lawns, it didn't look like anybody lived there. He couldn't even see a squirrel.

Boring. This entire neighborhood was just a big bore!

Trying not to let his disappointment get to him, Andrew took a deep breath and watched his feet cross back into the safe zone that was the sidewalk. The old cedar trees separating his house from the only other one on their side of the street made the entire yard smell like grandma's blankets. He didn't want to exhale yet, since the memory was comforting. But, he had to let it go like everything else. Sniffing at the air, he kept on walking.

Mom had said they would go see grandma again soon. They had spent the entire summer with her while the new house was fixed up. He had hoped this week would never come, but school was starting soon and not even the seasons listened to his prayers. At least grandma had helped him memorize her number.

At first, he ignored the sound of sniffling, thinking it was just the echo off the trees. Then he realized it was too loud and too often for him. Someone was crying.

Curious, he cocked his ear to listen. It was coming from the other side of the trees. Andrew crept up to the trees, listening as a soft whimpering became clear. That was another kid. His heart skipped a beat. There was another kid next door!

He froze. There was another kid next door and he was crying. Feeling the urge to sigh, Andrew pushed it aside along with the Cedar branches. 

The first thing he saw was a sandbox and swing set. The sandbox was empty, but one of the swings was occupied by a dark-haired boy. He sat with his back to Andrew, slumped against one of the heavy chains that held up his swing. One arm was wrapped around the chain and brought up to his face.

Andrew couldn't see the boy's face, but he just knew it had to be soaked from all the crying the boy was doing. Shifting uncomfortably, he glanced back over his shoulder to see if anybody was watching. His parents were still inside setting up the kitchen. He had a few minutes before someone noticed he wasn't putting his clothes and books away. Mind made up, he pushed through the branches.

The other boy sat up straight in his swing, head twisting round to stare at Andrew. His yellow eyes caught the sunlight, shining almost like glitter.

That brought Andrew up short. Blinking for a second, he looked at the rest of the boy's face. A slightly pointed nose, showing cheekbones, full lips over sharp looking teeth, fur-tipped ears...the boy was a wolf! "Huh." He had never seen one fully transformed before.

For a moment, the boy stared back, face open in shock. Then he frowned, pushing bushy eyebrows deep over his eyes. "What are you doing here?" Crying strained his voice into a high-pitched croak.

Andrew smiled, he couldn't help it. The other boy sounded like a strangled frog. At least, he thought that's what a strangled frog sounded like. He wasn't a monster, not like Cousin Danny. Raising his left hand, he waved at the kid. "I'm your new neighbor."

The eyebrows drew up more as the kid's frown deepened. "New neighbor?"

A tiny flutter in his stomach made Andrew hesitate a little before he nodded. "Yep!" Putting on his best grin, he walked to the other swing.

His new neighbor watched him the entire way over, only moving his head and shoulders like he was afraid the rest of him might get noticed.

Not that Andrew didn't notice. There was a bit of fur up his arms before they disappeared in his t-shirt. His clawed fingers clung to the chain, the tips dipping in and out of the links nervously. He bet those beatup Keds had furry toes too. "You know, I never had a wolf friend before. Mom's not going to like that. We'll have to play outside since we just got new carpet in the living room. She hates stains." Taking the chains in hand, he dropped his butt in the spare swing. 

A low grumble came from the other kid. "I'm not an animal!"

Snorting, he waved the other kid's comment off. "Of course you are. Haven't you heard?" Clearing his throat, he raised the pitch of his voice until he was speaking like a girl. "All little boys are messy, little animals. My grandma says 'when you put two or more of them together, not even god can keep a house clean.'" He finished with what he hoped was a good impersonation of grandma when she lectured him.

Sharp like a crack, the other boy cackled loudly in the quiet morning air. Eyes going wide, he slapped a hand over his mouth and looked about.

Warmth settled in Andrew's stomach as he pushed off, letting the swing carry him through the air. "I hope you like playing fetch. It's one off my favorite games, even got my own tennis ball." He let the words settle for a moment, waiting for the other kid draw breath to respond before continuing. "Just don't expect me to bring the ball back with my mouth. The dentist said I'm already gonna need braces."

Hearing the other kid choke on a laugh brought another smile to his face. Maybe moving here would be okay after all.


End file.
